20 most dangerous airport runways around the world

Princess Juliana Airport, Caribbean

This is regarded as one of the busiest airports in the Caribbean. Pilots have to fly the planes just about 60ft above a crowded beach before landing on the just 7,152 ft runway.

Ice Runway, Antarctica

The runway is made of solid ice, where an aircraft, weighing up to 450,000 pounds can land easily. The runway is used until early December when the ice begins to break up.

Paro Airport, Bhutan

Situated in the Himalayan Mountains in Bhutan, Paro Airport has a short runway of 6,500 ft. Only a few pilots are qualified to operate flights here.

Barra International Airport, Scotland

Surprisingly, this is the only airport in the world, where flights use a beach as the runway. There are three runways, which are fully submerged underwater during high tide.

Madeira Airport, Portugal

The airport was opened on July 7, 1964, with only two small runways. A few years later, a flight with 164 passengers on board plunged over the steep bank of the runway and crashed killing 131 people. Following the accident, the runway was extended to several feet.

Courchevel Airport, France

Situated in the French Alps, the runway of the Courchevel Airport measures just 1722ft long. With a distinct hill in the middle of the runway, only an experienced pilot can dare to fly here.

Gibraltar Airport

You will be surprised to know that a busy 4-lane highway crosses through the runway. Every time a plane takes off or lands, traffic at both sides of the road stops via a traffic light system.

Tioman Island Airport, Malaysia

Located on a volcanic island in the South China Sea, the runway of Tioman Island Airport is not operational for big planes. The runway is "one way" as flights can only land from and take off in one direction (north) due to nearby terrain.

Catalina Airport, California

As the airport is situated at a high altitude, pilots have to prepare for heavy turbulence on the runway. To top it all, the runway has a steep drop at both ends.

Congonhas Airport, Brazil

The airport has a short runway, where landing the flight is a herculean task. In July 2007, a flight overran the runway and crashed into a TAM Express warehouse, killing 187 passengers and crew on board.